


Segregatus

by shannyfish



Series: Memoria Damnum [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Creepy, Drugs, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Memory Loss, Missing Scene, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Touching, Non-Consensual Violence, POV Obadiah Stane, POV Pepper Potts, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Stark Industries, Stark Tower, Tony Stark Has Issues, Violation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-22
Updated: 2013-07-22
Packaged: 2017-12-21 01:28:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/894179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannyfish/pseuds/shannyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nightmares of Obadiah and the Iron Monger haunt Pepper…  Obadiah thinks that Tony is building up the company for him to take back…  And Pepper fights back…  Takes place during “The Avengers”.  Third in the “Memoria Damnum” Series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Segregatus

**Author's Note:**

> The first scene in this story takes place before the first scene with Tony and Pepper that we see in “Avengers”. Just think earlier in the day! Also! Constructive criticism is as always appreciated! Check out my blog on my writing at shannyfish11 (dot) blogspot (dot) com

“And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” ~ Khalil Gibran

 

. . .

 

It was a beautiful day in New York. It was a completely different city compared to Malibu. Pepper liked it anyways. It was exciting and even though they didn’t like there, it felt like a fresh start. Maybe it was more like they were starting a new chapter… Pepper wasn’t quite sure how to describe it. All she knew, was that things were going beautifully.

She and Tony had been dating and she’d stayed on as CEO of Stark Industries. That didn’t mean that Tony still didn’t need taking care of. He did. Sometimes she was fairly sure that he needed to be taken care of more now than ever…. She didn’t know if it was because he actually cared about the company and was showing a genuine interest…or if it was because he was acting that much more human. 

“I’m not sure it’s quite right,” Tony told her.

She smiled and shook her head. “I don’t want to hear about the workmen in the elevator, Tony…” She walked past him and sighed. She was never going to hear the end of that. It wasn’t her fault though, the elevator had malfunctioned and it needed to be fixed. She wasn’t going to ride a potentially dangerous elevator. Not everyone had an Iron Man suit that could be used in place of an elevator. She didn’t have that convenience…and she was fairly sure her shoes weren’t going to make it up and down all those stairs…let alone her body… You were truly in tiptop shape if you could make it all the way up the stairs in Stark Tower. 

“I didn’t say that it didn’t quite smell right!” 

He was following her and Pepper frowned. She turned her head and noticed the look on his face. She didn’t like that look. It meant that he wanted something… “What?” she half whined.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, genuine concern in his voice. “If it’s about my comments about—“

“No,” Pepper said quickly. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. “No… It’s not that.” She opened them to see that he looked even more worried now. “I’ve been having nightmares…”

“Again?”

“What do you mean, again?” She stared at him and waited. She didn’t think that he knew about her nightmares. She hadn’t said anything to him. He hadn’t said anything to her. There had been nothing… 

“I didn’t know if you wanted to talk about it,” Tony admitted. He shrugged. “You’ve been having them for a while…”

“How did—“

“Pepper, I may not have been sleeping with you before…but I know that you shouldn’t have circles under your eyes…” 

Pepper frowned. She was fairly sure that she’d used concealer to hide that… She was about to say something when he beat her to it.

“I only noticed because we’ve worked together for so long,” he added. “And Happy’s concerned too…”

“How did you both know?”

“Pep, something’s been off about you… I just figured that it was all the stress of being CEO…and having to deal with me…”

She reached out and touched his cheek. “It’s not that…”

“You always call my name,” he told her. “I always hold you and tell you that I’m there and that you’re okay…” He frowned deeper. “But I never know what you’re dreaming about…”

“Obadiah,” she whispered and looked down for a moment. She didn’t know why. She’d tried to figure it out and nothing came to mind. The only thing she could think about was that it was because really…she had been the one who had killed him. She’d blown the arc reactor at Stark Industries and he’d been on the roof and had been caught in the explosion of energy. 

“Tell me about it,” Tony said quietly.

She looked back up at him. “Agent Coulson and I went to Stark Industries… We were going to arrest Obadiah…”

“That didn’t work well,” Tony pointed out.

“I know,” she said with a small smile. “While the agents were looking for him…I accidentally found him… He was in that armor…”

“The Iron Monger…”

“What?”

“It’s something he said before…”

“He chased me… There were things that were exploding… I didn’t think I was going to live… I thought he was going to kill me…” Pepper admitted. “That’s what I dream about every night… Obadiah chasing me… I don’t know why…”

“Maybe it means something?”

Pepper frowned. “I’ve thought about that… The closest thing I can think of is guilt…”

“Why guilt?”

“I blew the arc reactor…”

“Pep—“

“It’s true! I did! I pressed the button!”

“I told you to do it.”

“I still did it…”

“Do you feel guilty?”

“No,” she whispered. 

“Then it has to be for some other reason…”

Pepper stared at him and leaned in and kissed him for a moment. She didn’t want to talk about that anymore. It made her sad and that was all behind them now anyways… They were looking forward towards the future. 

Their future. 

The future of Stark Industries…

“Can we talk about something else?” she asked.

“Of course,” Tony told her. “About how I’m clever?”

Pepper grinned and then she teased. “No…something else.”

Tony frowned, feigning hurt. “Oh…”

 

. . .

 

Stark Industries had grown leaps and bound since he was running the company. It really hadn’t been that long and though he didn’t understand Tony’s direction…he found that he could get behind it now. He just imagined how much money they’d rake in. It was going to be so much easier for him to step in…

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t make a few changes…

Even with the new direction, there was no reason that they couldn’t restart their weapons production. It didn’t seem like the military was doing very well with their other contracts. Justin Hammer and Hammer Industries obviously didn’t work out for them. The military was always going to need weapons…and Stark Industries could deliver that… They’d always done it in the past… Obadiah didn’t think that it would require too much convincing.

He liked to pretend that he was on extended vacation and that Tony and Pepper were taking care of everything. He’d check the stocks and the latest news… See where Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, and Tony Stark were in the media… He had a feeling that with Pepper staying on as Stark Industries CEO even after the crapshoot that was the Stark Expo that it would be even easier…

Obadiah was sure that he could control Pepper…in many ways. He didn’t care if she remained CEO…he could work with her….and in any way he needed in order to control her how he wanted… Really, his controlling Pepper wouldn’t just benefit him…in numerous ways, but also the company. He was sure that it was a win-win for everyone. Well, everyone except Tony. 

Stark Industries had been built by Howard Stark, his friend and partner…but after his death he’d happily taken over… Even when Tony had ‘come of age’, he’d still run the company… People were going to weapon him back with open arms…

The good thing about papers were that given Pepper and Tony’s statuses, he could always find information about them in there. They were always announcing where they’d be and what they’d be doing. It was far better than stalking someone on Twitter. Obadiah was still fairly sure that that was why Twitter had been invented. To stalk people, disguised as social networking. No other sane person would ‘check in’ every place they went and told everyone what they were doing…unless they wanted someone’s attention. 

Tony and Pepper weren’t on Twitter…

He put down his mug of coffee and looked around. In this city, so busy and bustling, he could be out in the middle of the day and no one would recognize him. Obadiah smiled to himself and then folded his paper and set it down next to the mug. He left a twenty for the coffee and headed out of the small diner.

They’d never see him coming…

 

. . .

 

Pepper was working in DC on the zoning for billboards for Stark Industries, which meant that was where he was. He was working on a plan he was getting into place… Someone who hated Tony Stark as much as he did was looking for an opportunity. He was going to give him one. He knew it was a risk, but it was one he was willing to take before revealing himself to the whole world. Even though his efforts before had resulted in his almost death…and Vanko and Hammer had failed him…he had some hope and confidence in this one.

Obadiah had booked a room on the same floor as Pepper’s, but had done so under a different name. Trevor Allen. He was thankful for the shady contacts that he still had. They had made his life hiding, bidding his time, so much easier. He had papers and identification… He had had so many aliases in the last several months…but now, he was going to have a final one before the world knew that he still lived… 

And they’d accept him back.

They didn’t know any better.

“Are you sure this is all correct?” Obadiah questioned.

The man brought up his phone and turned it so that Obadiah could see the picture on the screen. “This is Trevor Allen….the resemblance is good. You could be his brother.”

“I thought you said he died in the Congo? How does that help me?”

“You were seriously injured in the Congo. Lost in the jungle,” the man said, obviously trying to paint a picture. “You didn’t have any memory of who you were. A local village cared for you until aid workers brought you here.” He smiled. “The police identified you as Trevor Allen.”

“Are there records?”

“Of course,” the man told him. “They’re already in place.”

“You have an apartment in New York complete with furnishings, mementos, and photos…” The man handed him a set of keys and then a large manila envelope which was stuffed. “All of the information you’ll need is in here.”

Obadiah handed him a thick envelope with cash. “Far beyond my expectations,” he said and then started to thumb through the documents. He smiled and chuckled lowly. “These are going to work out perfectly… If everything is done as well in New York, then you’ll find yourself with more work, my friend.”

The man just smiled and nodded. “I’m your man.”

“I’ll remember that…”

Once his guest had left, Obadiah stowed his items safely away. He didn’t need them now. These were for later…for phase two of his plan… He glanced down at his watch and wondered if now was a good time. He knew where Pepper was at all times, he needed to. He couldn’t run into her and having her freak out…not yet anyways. 

Right now, Pepper was down in the hotel restaurant having dinner with someone who was interested in the arc reactor power source and Stark Tower. He already knew how it was going to play out. Pepper was going to be polite and gracious, but whatever the guy wanted…Stark Industries wasn’t interested. She knew how to play the game and he had to admit that he’d always been impressed with her…she was more than just a pretty face…

He was getting excited just thinking about her. It had been far too long… Obadiah knew that this evening was going to end in Pepper’s room. It would make things easier… No half carrying her through the hallway (even if it was just around the corner) and having to possibly explain things. No, he’d just be able to slip out of her room at the end of the night (or early morning) when he was done with her…

Pulling on his navy blue jacket, he tucked his trusty bag of pills into the pocket. He also put his gun into the holster that lay under his arm. Obadiah didn’t expect to use it… It was just to keep her motivated and quiet when he needed it. Lastly, he picked up the bottle of win that he’d brought special for her. It was the wine they’d drank when they’d thought Tony was dead in Afghanistan.

Bastard.

He still had no idea how Tony managed it. 

Nevertheless, things were going to go ahead as planned. Tony was in New York and he had Pepper all to himself in DC. No one would be the wiser… He didn’t even have to worry about the pesky Happy Hogan interfering. Everything was coming together nicely… 

The last thing he required was a hat. It wasn’t for Pepper, per say, but to keep his face off of any cameras. He’d worn a Yankees baseball cap upon entering the hotel and now was going to leave his room in a grey fedora. He angled it just so before leaving his room, slipping his key into the pocket of his jacket as he went. 

It didn’t take him long to make it downstairs. He’d kept his head down and had tried to keep from attracting any unwanted attention. He carried the bottle with both hands and as he made his way towards the restaurant he just hoped that the man Pepper was meeting with had left. Obadiah shifted the wine to one hand and unclipped the snap on the holster. He wanted easy access in case he needed it.

As he entered, he told the host that he was meeting someone and looked around. He saw her and she was alone. He noticed that she seemed to be checking her phone and her purse was on the table where a plate would normally be. She was obviously ready to go. So, he moved in and pulled a chair right up beside her before setting the wine on the table next to her purse.

“Oh, no thank you,” she said when the wine hit the table. 

He was in the seat next to her, the gun out of its holster, and the gun pressed against her lower ribs before she could turn to look at her. He just grinned at her. “You’re going to be quiet, Pepper,” he whispered. His left hand held the gun in place; he could feel her trying to retract her body from the muzzle of the gun. He stretched out his right arm around her shoulders. “We’re not going to make a scene,” he said as he continued to smile.

“How—“ Pepper stuttered. “Why—“ He could see the clear surprise on her face and he had to admit, there was something about her… She looked like she was glowing… Maybe it was because she and Tony were something more. He knew about that and he really didn’t like it. He just kept having to remind himself that soon enough she’d be all his. Tony Stark wouldn’t touch her again after he killed him. 

“You’re going to grab the wine I brought for you,” he said. “We’re going to both get up slowly…and I’m going to walk you up to your room. You’re not going to let anyone know there’s anything wrong. Am I understood?”

“What do you want?” she whispered.

“Am I understood?” he repeated.

They stared at each other for a very long moment. 

Pepper finally nodded.

He got to his feet first, hiding the gun under his jacket. He holstered it once she was on her feet with the bottle in hand and her purse slung over her shoulder. He quickly had a hold of her arm. Obadiah just smiled. “Good girl, Pepper…”

“I’m not doing this because of you,” she whispered as he escorted her out of the restaurant.

“Oh I know,” Obadiah said. “You’re doing it because you don’t want me to shoot up this restaurant…and I’m sure you wouldn’t want us to be on the cover of some tabloid… Maybe they’d label me as your mysterious lover…”

“I was only thinking of the first part,” she told him honestly.

“Just imagine what Tony would think,” he told her. He pressed the ‘up’ arrow button once they reached the elevator doors. He turned and looked at her. “I bet he would be jealous… Especially after he’s had to wait all of these years to have you, and now that he finally does…I’m sure he won’t let go of you easily…”

“You’re wrong,” she told him. “He wouldn’t be jealous… He knows that I’d be faithful to him.”

“I think you’re wrong. I think he’d be jealous…” 

Pepper ignored him.

“He knows that you’re too good for him,” he continued. He liked pushing her buttons and he liked trying to make her feel like she’d made the wrong choice in dating Tony. “You always have been and you always will be… One day you’ll wake up and realize that.”

“So, what is this?” she asked, her voice a little louder. “An intervention?”

Obadiah shushed her and then pulled her into the elevator once the doors were opened. Once inside, she pulled away from him. He pressed down the ‘door close’ button while pressing their floor number. He waited until it started to move before letting it go. It never stopped once. It was a trick he’d learned. He turned to her. “Of sorts,” he finally said. He moved in on her, his smile still in place. Oh, how he was going to enjoy their night together. “It’s one that you’re most likely going to be resistant of,” he continued. “That’s why I have the wine…”

“It’s my favorite.”

“I know.”

He was so close to her that he could have kissed her if he wanted to in the elevator. It dinged to alert them that they were there and the doors were about to open. He took a step back and then held out his arm to her. When she just stared at him, he sighed. “Do you really want me to do this the hard way?” He motioned to the gun.

He could see the reluctance in her eyes, but eventually she wrapped her arm in his. They stepped out of the elevator together and headed down the hall towards Pepper’s room. He noticed that she kept looking around. He knew that she was there alone. Tony wasn’t there. Happy wasn’t there. She’d made the journey alone and had probably figured that there would be no problems. She wouldn’t remember there being any.

“This is going to be fun, Pepper,” Obadiah told her as they neared her room. “Just like a reunion… We have a lot of catching up to do…”

“The arc reactor—“

“You did that,” he told her and turned to look at her. She looked surprised for him calling her out on that fact. He knew that she’d pressed the button to blow it. Tony had told her and she’d do anything that Tony asked her, at least then she would. She’d changed since then… She was stronger, more confident, and held so much more power… And it found it all even more exciting… It would be even better to have her now… 

“You were—“

“Crazy? Mad? Unbalanced? Berserk? Erratic? Deranged?” 

Pepper just stared at him.

“Open. The. Door.”

She just continued to stare. 

“Open it now,” he said again and squeezed her arm a bit this time. 

He watched carefully as she reached into her purse to retrieve her keycard. She swiped it and turned the doorknob and pushed. He pushed the door as well and herded her inside. Obadiah made sure to keep an eye on her, though, because he knew she had the wine bottle and he was waiting for her to—

And Pepper swung the bottle at him. He caught it, dropped it the few inches until it hit the floor before letting out a low laugh. “You’re going to fight, huh? Last time we did this and you fought, you ended up breaking your favorite pair of shoes…” He, of course, didn’t mind… He’d even been nice enough to ice it before he left last time. 

She was staring at him now; there was a very confused look on her face. He wasn’t sure if she remembered what he was talking about or if she was trying to figure out if she believed him. “What do you want with me? It’s obviously not discussing Stark Industries stocks…”

He closed the distance between them and shoved her down on the bed. “Don’t move!” he barked. “I will not hesitate to hit you and then make it look like you fell after drinking too much!” He was sick of the games though… He was going to have her… He walked over to where the glasses were and retrieved them. With care, he set the two glasses on the table before going back towards the door and retrieving the wine. “I think that I was very thoughtful bringing your favorite wine… You didn’t even say thank you…”

Silence.

He could work with that though… 

Moving back to the table, he set the wine down and made quick work of opening it. He really had it down. Reaching into his pocket, he opened the bag, pulled out the pill, and then closed it back up before dropping it into one of the glasses. He poured the wine first into that glass. He swished it around before turning to where Pepper was still sitting and handing it to her.

“I don’t want it…”

“You’re going to drink it.”

“I’d rather not.”

“I’ll hold you down and pour it down your throat if I have to,” he told her, deadly serious. He moved towards her and loomed over her as he held the drink in his hand. Obadiah wasn’t sure if he was just more aggressive because of how turned on he was or if it had just been too long… All he knew was that he couldn’t wait to get the party started, so to speak. He also was ready for a glass to complete the mood…

Pepper finally reached out and took the glass. Obadiah took a step back, but kept his eyes on her. He didn’t want her to pour it out; he wanted to make sure that she consumed it. He needed to know that he could start his countdown… His fun would start soon enough…once she started to drink anyways…

He smiled at the thought of Pepper under him and then moved back to the table to pour himself a glass of wine as well, all of the while, keeping an eye on Pepper. She didn’t move, she was just staring up at him, watching him. He brought his glass up to his lips and sipped. After a moment, he nodded to her. “Drink,” he encouraged.

“Why are you here, Obadiah?” she asked calmly.

“You always were one to get down to business, Pepper,” he told her. He sipped his wine some more as he continued to stare at her. He really was going to enjoy himself. He couldn’t wait to have his hands on her breasts as he thrusted inside of her. It was almost too much excitement, just thinking about it. 

“That’s not an answer.”

“Drink your wine,” he told her before sipping his again.

She waited and then sighed. Pepper looked down at the glass and swished it around for a moment before taking a sip. She looked back up at Obadiah and he just smiled. 

“I was in town because I wanted to see you,” he told her honestly. “I know you’re here doing work for the new tower… I’m actually quite impressed at what you…and even Tony have done with the company… Apparently, I should have stolen you away from Tony long ago and promoted you… The company probably would be a lot farther by now.”

“So, you’re spying?” Pepper asked.

“Yes,” he said and took another sip before nodding at her.

Pepper set the glass on the nightstand. “There has to be a reason…”

“It’s been too long,” he said before setting his glass down and approaching her. He sat down next to her on the bed and scooted closer than she obviously wanted. He reached out and put one arm around her as the there hand ventured up her leg. She gasped and went to hit him. He ended up pinning her on the bed instead. “Uh uh uh…” he said and straddled her. He pinned her arms above her head and then managed to grab her drink. “You’re going to cooperate now, Pepper… I really don’t want to have to hurt you… I really don’t… It doesn’t help me in any way…”

She went to scream and he started to pour it down her throat. There was a gurgling sound and then she was coughing. “Are you ready to do this the easy way? Or should I half drown you in your favorite wine?” he asked. Her eyes were watering and she looked terrified.

“Tony—“

“He’s in New York… He was here last night, though,” Obadiah told her. “I don’t think he’ll be back tonight…” He smirked and then grinded himself down on her. She let out a whimper and then fought against him, but he just held her. “I know what he came for… He got that, so now he can think… He’s too busy tinkering right now…”

Pepper remained silent. 

There was still half a glass left and he was determined to get it into her. “Do you really want me to break an arm? The cover-up for that is going to be far more painful than anything else,” Obadiah told her. 

“Please…just stop,” she whispered. 

He smiled, thinking that he’d won. Obadiah moved from on top of her and pulled her back up to a sitting position. Settling down next to her again, he put the glass in one of her hands while his other hand started to rub her back. “Time to drink up, Pepper…”

“You’re going to need to get a lot more wine in me to get me drunk enough to do anything with you,” she spat and then slowly started to drink down the wine. He just smirked at her. She didn’t know… She didn’t remember… She didn’t remember before or the first time either… He’d thought about using scopolamine, but this just worked better for his purposes…even though the other would have been fast acting… 

Once her glass was empty, he took it from her and examined the bottom to make sure that she’d gotten every last bit of the dissolved pill into her system. “It wasn’t about the wine…” He looked back at her, a grin still in place. “It was about what was in the wine…”

“You drugged me?” 

“You seem surprised,” he said as he reached past her to put her glass back on the nightstand table.

“You never before showed any interest—“

“Oh, I did…and I got what I wanted then too,” he said as he put his hand on her knee once again and slid it up. He watched her the whole time, loving her reaction as his words sunk it. “I’ve done it more than just that one time too… Those nights that you can’t remember…”

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. He wondered if he remembered every time or if it was just one of their encounters. “Why?”

“Come on, Pepper,” he said as he moved his hand further up. “You’re the woman that everyone wants, but no one can have… Tony’s fired so many Stark Industries employees because of you over the years…”

“What are you talking about?” She moved further towards the headboard, his hand falling from her thigh, but all the while keeping eye contact with him.

“Anyone Tony saw looking at you wrong, treating you wrong, or a possible threat…he eliminated… I’ll admit, it was worse when you first came on as his assistant… I thought we’d never have a full staff… I’m sure he always came up with other reasons if you noticed…” Obadiah told her. “I told him that he couldn’t have you either…and obviously he behaved for a while… But he thinks I’m dead, so he figures what the heck… I might as well promote my assistant to CEO and use her like a whore…” He watched as she cringed at the word he used. He purposely had done it for that effect. “You don’t want to be his…do you?” His hand was running along her cheek as tears silently fell from her eyes. 

She snapped away. “I don’t want to be yours, either!” she yelled at him. 

“You’re not going to have much choice,” Obadiah told her. He moved closer to her. “You might as well enjoy it now…”

“No!” she screamed and as she tried to scramble backward, she found his hand on her arm and he hauled her back. 

“Don’t make this difficult,” he told her gruffly as he held her down on the bed. Maybe he’d enjoy her more like this… He certainly was feeling his excitement surging through him. He straddled her again, his already hard member pressing against her as he leaned down to grab her hands. She went to scream and he covered her mouth with his own. 

What happened next, he hadn’t expected. He hadn’t had a hold of both of her hands and one of them came up and her manicured fingernails scratched at his face. It felt like she was clawing at his flesh. He screamed as he pulled back. His hand went up to his face and he pulled it back to find specks of blood. Obadiah brought his hand up and wondered for a moment if it would leave a mark. He didn’t care right now. He’d figure out a cover story for it if he needed to. His hand came down and across her face. “Bitch!” he spat at her. Her whimpers filled the room and he found himself even more turned on, if that was possible… 

 

. . .

 

She vaguely remembered where she’d been earlier in the evening. At least she thought that those were the correct memories. Pepper felt sick at the realization that she was naked and underneath someone other than Tony. He was heavier and taller and his smell wasn’t right. He didn’t feel right inside of her. She knew it wasn’t Tony. Panic set in as she tried to stay still as she attempted to piece together how that was possible. It wasn’t in her nature to be unfaithful or have meaningless one night stands.

Fear sunk into her and been washed away with disgust.

Pepper remembered being in New York. Manhattan. Stark Tower… But she swore that was the night before. She remembered that she and Tony were celebrating…

Tony…

Tears fell from her eyes as she thought about him. Unfaithful was the last thing she ever wanted to be. And as she thought more, she remembered that morning… She’d had coffee and some fruit for breakfast… She remembered doing the work on the billboards for the next Stark Tower… She remembered that she had a dinner appointment scheduled…

“Pepper…” a moan rang out as the man on top of her continued his thrusting. Strong arms were on her, holding her in place. She kept still for the moment, unable to bring herself to move.

She wanted this to be a nightmare. When she thought about it, she felt like it was really the only option… Unless someone had drugged her…

The low moan came again. “Pepper…yes…”

Pepper’s mind screamed when she heard the voice again. It sounded like Obadiah Stane. He was dead. He’d been dead. It wasn’t possible.

It had to be a nightmare…

She didn’t have nightmares like this. Normally it was Obadiah in the iron suit. Tony had called it the Iron Monger. He’d chase her through the corridor at Stark Industries… She’d think she was going to die… That would be it. She’d wake up.

His hand came up and rolled her head. She felt suddenly like she couldn’t breathe. It was Obadiah. That wasn’t possible. It wasn’t. He was dead. They had all attended his funeral since SHIELD’s story hadn’t included any of the plotting he’d done. They had been forced to act as normal as possible. Like it had been before Afghanistan…and before Tony had become Iron Man. It had been hard. But nonetheless, this wasn’t possible. Obadiah Stane was dead. 

“Look who’s awake to enjoy,” he said before another moan escaped his lips. His mouth was on hers and her scream was muffled.

Pepper twisted against his hold and found her limbs were sluggish in response. She managed to move herself by rolling to the side, effectively pulling him out of her. He growled and sunk fingers into her hip in an attempt to roll her back. 

“Bitch!” he screamed at her. “Get back here!”

Pepper, pulled against the side of the bed, to try to keep herself in place and on her side. He growled and she felt something warm squirt onto her hip. She screwed her eyes shut and let out a sob. 

This wasn’t happening…

She was with Tony… 

Obadiah was dead.

He was supposed to be dead.

She needed to wake up.

But she didn’t wake up; instead she could feel her stomach rolling and acid rising. Pepper opened her eyes and pulled as hard as she could on the edge of the mattress to keep from Obadiah’s hands. She ended up in a heap after hitting the floor hard. She managed to get on her hands and knees and crawl towards the bathroom. She didn’t think she could get to her feet. She was having enough time moving in a crawl.

“Where you are going?” Obadiah asked in a sing-song voice. She could hear the bed creak and knew that he was moving. She had no idea what he would do to her. Would he grab her and throw her back onto the bed? Would he hit her? Would he care that she was about to be sick? Would that be enough to disgust him and get him to leave her alone? She could only hope…

He didn’t bother her though, but she heard his low laughter. She was feeling even more sluggish as her hands hit the tile floor of the bathroom. It was like sleep was suddenly smacking her. And it was doing so, hard. Pepper looked between the toilet and the shower. She quickly opted for the shower. She threw up onto the tan tiled shower floor. Pepper whimpered and reached up to turn on the shower. She didn’t care what temperature it was on right now. She waited as her stomach contents made their way down the drain before getting herself in. Pepper got herself into a corner and then yanked the shower curtain closed. Her hand maneuvered the water to clean between her legs and then to her hip. 

Tears had been falling, but it was like she’d just realized that she’d been crying. Pepper covered her face with her hands. He hadn’t even had the decency to wear a condom. Her head was still spinning at the thought of him being alive. And why would he do such a thing to her? Sobs racked her body and all she could think about was how filthy she felt and how she was going to explain it to Tony…

Would he think less of her?

Would their relationship be the same?

Would their still be a relationship?

Could she cope?

She didn’t know the answers…

Pepper was in the corner, her arms wrapped around her legs, and was just sobbing. A white washrag and a handful of complimentary soaps were tossed in. “Wash yourself up…but I’m not done with you,” he told her. “I want you at least once more before I have to leave…” 

She ignored him and tried to think if there was anyway she could overpower him. She didn’t think so. It was sinking in that it hadn’t been an either or thing… This wasn’t a nightmare or being drugged… He’d done both… Pepper reached up and flipped the temperature to scolding hot before using the washcloth and soap to scrub herself. She focused on trying to get any trace of him off of her and from inside of her, all the while sobbing. Her hand was shaking and her vision was starting to blur. She was exhausted…and sleep was tugging at her. She needed to be clean, though. And more than that, she needed a plan…

The last thing she heard before sleep overtook her was Obadiah urinating not even five feet from her…

 

. . .

 

Water hit her face and she turned her head. She could still feel it hitting her. It wasn’t just her face or head, though…it was running down her whole body… And it was cold. She shook her head and then turned it as she opened her eyes. She blinked at the shower curtain. 

Where was she?

She looked up and around. She was definitely in a shower. It wasn’t her shower. Pepper looked down and saw the white washrag and the hotel soaps. She was in a hotel… And then she remembered she was in DC… She was there on business and Tony wasn’t with her.

Pepper realized that she hurt. Her whole body ached… Her head was spinning and she felt heavy…like she had bricks on top of her…weighing her down… She reached up and turned the water off. Her hand went up and grabbed the bar before using it to get to her feet. She was shaky and leaned against the wall for a moment. 

“What did I do?” she asked herself as she shook her head again.

She didn’t know what it was. Her head just kept spinning and felt like there was something in it. It was a horrible feeling… It was like some kind of hangover… She didn’t remember drinking…and even if she had, this wasn’t quite how it felt…

Carefully, she exited the shower and grabbed a towel. She frowned deeply at the toilet; the seat and the lid were up. No woman she knew used it like that… Even when she threw up, she usually didn’t lift both… There was something very wrong… Wrapped in the towel, she slowly made her way out into the bedroom.

She froze immediately upon seeing someone in the bed. Was it Tony? No, Tony wasn’t there… She swore Tony wasn’t there… Who else would be in her bed? Looking around, she finally spotted what she’d been looking for… Her purse. It was on the nightstand on the other side of the bed. Of course it couldn’t be closer… Slowly and carefully, she tiptoed around the bed. As she got closer, she tried to figure out who was in bed… It wasn’t until she was on the far side of the bed that she finally recognized who it was.

Obadiah Stane.

And she was having a nightmare…

Or hallucinating…

Could she be doing both?

Either way, she needed her purse… 

More importantly, she needed her cell phone. 

She lifted it as slowly as she could. Pepper immediately cringed when it made even the smallest of sounds. She froze and looked at the sleeping Obadiah. She still didn’t know what to think. Had she lost it? Maybe she’d finally cracked under pressure? She didn’t feel like she was under that much more stress than she was used to…and she was used to quite a lot.

Pepper turned to retreat back to the bathroom. She opened her purse as she went, being quiet but also quick. She was nearly there and had her phone out. She scrolled to Tony’s cell number and was about to hit ‘call’ when the phone was knocked from her hand and she was quickly flipped so that her back hit the nearby wall. Her purse fell to the ground with the phone and her towel slid. Her arms were pinned and he was there with a grin on his face.

“I guess I passed out,” he told her. He pressed himself against her. “Don’t worry… I’m ready for another round…” 

“Get off of me!” she yelled and tried to push against him.

“I’m thinking that either you’re becoming immune to what I’ve given you or there’s some other reason for how feisty you’ve been even after I give it to you,” he told her. Obadiah smirked. “Don’t worry… I like it!”

“Tony—“

“Tony will do what? We have this conversation every time! He’s not here! He thinks I’m dead! He doesn’t think you’re in any danger! You’re doing boring paperwork, which is why he isn’t here with you!” Obadiah spat at her.

He physically moved her along the wall towards the nightstand on that side of the bed; he slowly pulled the drawer open with one hand and removed a gun. He held it up to her. “Now…what do we want to do?” he asked, as if he cared what her response was. He looked at the watch on his wrist. “We still have plenty of time, though…”

Pepper just watched him. She wondered if it was worth it trying to get away if there was a possibility of her getting shot. With him holding her and the gun at such a close range, she was fairly sure that she wouldn’t get far and that he wouldn’t miss. Getting shot wasn’t going to help her.

“I think I know what we’re going to do,” he told her. “I’m going to get you to relax a little bit, you’re going to help me relax, I’m going to call for a midnight snack, I’m going to have my last go with you, and then I’m afraid I’m going to have to go… Tomorrow you’ll be going back to New York and you won’t remember a thing…” Obadiah was completely calm and matter of fact about the whole thing. She just wanted to scream and she thought about it, but again…he had a gun. 

“Pour yourself another glass,” he instructed, motioning with the gun towards the table that held both of their glasses and the bottle of wine. He followed her and pulled the bag of pills from his jacket pocket, he pulled out two. 

Pepper just kept looking back over at him and wondered what kind of drug he was giving her. It had to be some sort of date rape drug… And it terrified her that he’d be right, that she wouldn’t remember anything… She already really couldn’t remember anything before waking up in the shower. “How long have you been giving me those?” she asked as he put them in her hand.

“Long enough…” he told her gruffly. “Pour me a glass.”

Reluctantly, she took the pills. She thought about trying to cheek them or hide them under her tongue, but she wasn’t good at that. She was sure that he’d notice. So, she just hoped that either she really wouldn’t remember anything or that Obadiah would get caught. She poured him a glass and handed it to her. Pepper stared at the door and wondered if she could make it…but he still had the gun. 

She found him guiding her back to where he’d pressed her against the wall. She didn’t like him having her in that position with no way out. Pepper told herself that right now all she needed to focus on was not getting shot. She didn’t want Tony to see that she’d been found shot to death, naked, and had been raped in a hotel room on the news…or from the police… If she lived…if she remembered…she’d figure out how to cope…but she couldn’t die…not now…not like this…

“I won’t remember?” she asked as she looked up at him. She was almost hopeful at his answer… 

“Sadly, no,” he told her before shoving her down onto her knees.

 

. . .

 

Pepper woke feeling heavy. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t really think much. She could barely keep conscious. But something…no, someone was lying on her. She could feel his head on her chest, nuzzled between her breasts. And once she concentrated on the feelings, she knew it wasn’t Tony. He was bald and he had a beard. It wasn’t Tony. He smelled like alcohol and tobacco. And he was drooling on her. He was passed out…and she felt like she was going to be too…

She tried to move, but her fingers would barely move… She was stuck. She was going to be this way until he moved…or until she could move… She didn’t think either was happening very soon… 

Tears fell from her eyes and she lay like that until the darkness finally overtook her.

 

. . .

 

Obadiah had to admit; he couldn’t wait until Pepper was firmly his. His escapades with her were few and far between and he, as always, craved more. He’d left her in her hotel room and had cleaned his presence as best as he could. He didn’t think that he’d have to worry about the police or crime scene. Pepper was going to be far too distracted by what was on the television to care about her missing block of memory and by this time he knew that she was supposed to be on the jet back to Manhattan. 

Tony Stark was on the news, not that he was surprised, but it was as Iron Man. Apparently there was some kind of full on alien invasion going on in Manhattan. He wished that he would be able to take credit for it if they managed to kill Tony where he had failed in the past. He was sure that Pepper was worried sick, but it just made him smile. 

If he died… 

Obadiah couldn’t think of a better early Christmas gift…

Okay, so maybe Pepper in his bed every night would be a better one, as long as he didn’t have to drug her every time… Or maybe he just required Pepper in the mansion in Malibu. It was far away from everything else and the walls were soundproof. He wouldn’t have to worry if she screamed and struggled. He grinned at the thought. 

He wondered if there was a standard waiting period that was expecting in order to change a company’s name. Was it respectful to wait a month? Six? A year? Stark Industries could easily be changed to Stane Industries… They wouldn’t even have to change anything with an SI logo on it. 

The news reporter suddenly started to sound very hyped up. On the television, they were showing footage of a missile that looked like it was meant for Manhattan. Iron Man was there to save the day as he tried to redirect the missile. They were showing him pushing it upwards along Stark Tower and towards the portal in the sky. No one seemed to know anything about the portal except that aliens were pouring out of it. 

And then Tony was gone… 

He held his breath and then listened a few minutes later as the news reporter reported a change. The beam was gone. The portal was closing. Still no Tony… This was going to be an early Christmas for him. Not only would he have Stark Industries, but Pepper was going to be completely his…

Grinning, he left the money for the bartender before walking out of the bar. That was all he needed to see. 

 

. . .

 

“Please! You have to let me through!” she yelled. She’d been trying to call Tony, but it wasn’t going through. When she’d gotten off the jet and had gone to call him the first time, her heart had felt like it had stopped when she’d seen his missed call. There had been no message. Every since then she’d worried. So, she’d kept trying to call and get through to him. There was no way that he would ignore her calls or that JARVIS wouldn’t tell her that Tony was busy or something. There was something wrong with JARVIS or the armor and she was terrified. What if they just didn’t know that something had happened to Tony? If the others had taken him somewhere where it wouldn’t be on the cameras? If no one thought to call her?

“Ma’am, it’s not safe, we’re going to have to ask you to stay behind this line,” the officer said.

For the first time in a long time, Pepper felt invisible and unimportant. She knew that the officers were busy and that they were just doing their job…but she was Pepper Potts and she was going to find Tony. She was suddenly wishing for more sensible shoes… She could make this work, though. She knew that it wasn’t wise to run the battered streets of Manhattan barefoot, but she’d had enough practice running about in heels. She’d make it work. She just hoped that she didn’t twist her ankle and break the heel of one of her favorite pairs of shoes.

She waited until the officers had gathered together to one side and were no longer spaced out along the barricade. Pepper slipped through and burst out running. She heard yelling behind her and had to force herself not to look back. She just kept running and when she’d made it a good distance, glanced over her shoulder. No one had followed her that far…

Pepper allowed herself to walk, but at a brisk pace. She was heading for Stark Tower, which now only held the ‘A’ in Stark. She hoped that Tony was there…that he’d be trying to get a hold of her when she found him. Oh how she hoped that he was alive… She’d seen him fall, but the Avengers hadn’t been seen much of after that… She had no idea what happened to Tony… 

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought about the ‘what ifs’ and was even more intensified when the entrance to Stark Tower came into view and she took in the destruction on the street. It was a ways down the street, but it felt like she’ d stepped into a movie or onto another planet… None of this was right to her. 

She took a step towards Stark Tower and then another, all the while looking around cautiously half expecting one of the aliens on the ground to pop back up to life and try to kill her. They didn’t. 

“Pepper!” 

Her heart felt like it stopped and then immediately leaped out of her chest at his voice. Tony! It was Tony. She spun around looking for him and finally spotted him. He was approaching her with the group that she could only guess was Fury’s Avengers. “Tony!” she yelled before taking off towards him. The tears came faster now. He looked awful. The armor was damaged and his helmet was missing. But it was alive! Right now, that was really all that mattered. Everything else could wait until tomorrow…

Her arms wrapped around his armor clad body and she didn’t care if his reputation was somehow tarnished because she was there and crying like a baby. He enveloped her ‘lightly’ with his arms and kissed her head.

“I’m okay, Pep,” he whispered. “We’re all okay…”

“I tried to call you,” she told him. 

“I tried to call you first,” he whispered. 

Pepper, after a long moment, took a step back. She wiped her tears and reminded herself that he was okay…that everyone was okay… They’d just saved the whole world from alien attack… She tried to regain her composure and looked them all over. She only had met one other before. “Agent Romanoff,” she greeted with a smile and a nod. 

“Ms. Potts,” she replied in kind.

“I should do introductions,” Tony suddenly realized.

“Maybe we should skip that part,” one of the men, the one who was holding up his own pants, had spoken up. “You give everyone nicknames…”

“This is Bruce!” Tony said as he motioned to the man who had just been talking.

“Okay, so that’s actually my name,” Bruce admitted. He held out a hand while holding his pants up with the other. “Doctor Bruce Banner…”

“He turns all green and awesome and smashy…”

“Smashy?” Bruce questioned Tony.

“You get used to it,” Pepper told him. She knew what Tony was talking about… She’d briefly seen the footage before when Phil had come to recruit Tony’s help. She’d left him alone to do his work, but she suddenly remembered seeing most of them on the screens in Stark Tower.

“Maybe the next order of business should be getting you some clothes,” Tony told Bruce. 

“Are you jealous or something?” Bruce asked.

“Something like that…” Tony mumbled and then motioned to Stark Tower. “There’s at least a pair of pants that should fit better upstairs…” 

“The power’s probably been cut,” Natasha pointed out.

“The flight system in this thing still works,” Tony said looking around. 

“I’ll take the stairs…” Pepper told him.

“Thor’s still got his hammer,” Natasha pointed out with a grin on her face.

Tony frowned deeply and pulled Pepper towards him. “Thor can keep his hammer away from Pepper…” 

 

. . .

 

Tony didn’t wait long until trying to piece things back together and it worried Pepper a bit. He’d told her that they’d lost Phil and that had been it. He hadn’t wanted to talk about it. He hadn’t wanted to stay in bed any longer and cuddle. He’d just wanted to get to work. Though, Pepper had a feeling that having Bruce there was helping in some weird way for him to cope. They would disappear into R&D and she wouldn’t see them until they were hungry. 

“Hey,” Tony said as he entered their penthouse by himself.

Pepper thought it was odd, but then maybe Bruce had finally gotten tired of Tony and his ego. No matter how smart Bruce was, Tony seemed to be all about one-upping him and she didn’t know if he only did it in front of her or if he did it when it was just them. “Done with your play date?” she asked, amusement clear on her face.

“He said he has to go,” Tony told her. “He said to tell you thanks and until next time.” 

She frowned and could tell that he really wasn’t very happy. Without Bruce there, there wasn’t someone else who knew exactly what he went through. With her, he acted like it was nothing… He acted as if it almost didn’t happen… That people didn’t die… That the world didn’t almost end… And that he helped save it all…

No, he was worried about her stepping on glass with her bare feet even though it’d been swept, vacuumed, and then repeated about five times already. “Why don’t we head back to Malibu?” she asked. “We could be home in time for dinner… I could make reservations…” Not that they really needed them, but it was polite. 

“Let’s stay another day,” Tony said. He pulled out the plans for the third time that day for what would be fixed, modified, and rebuilt on Stark Tower. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, her head rested on his back. Right now, keeping him okay was all that mattered… If this is how he needed to cope, then this is how they’d do it. For now, at least.

“You know they won’t be able to reinstall these windows for a while,” Pepper reminded.

“The breeze will be nice,” he told her.

It felt open, but right now…it felt too open. 

The threat had been real and it had come from the sky. They’d flown around and crashed into buildings. She knew that they couldn’t let fear steer their lives, but at the same time…it was a little disconcerting that their penthouse was wide open like that. Of course, she knew of few people that she had to worry about breaking in. “At least put JARVIS on higher security alert.”

“Already there,” Tony told her and didn’t even look up from his plans.

Pepper rolled the black pad up, making the plans disappear. She scooted so that she could sit on the edge of the table. Pepper wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. “You have no idea how worried I was about you…”

“Pep—“

“Please let me finish…” He was quiet so she took that as her okay to go on. She reached out and cupped his face with her hands. “I love you.” It seemed like a good place to start. “I love that you’re Tony… I love that you still drive me crazy when it comes to schedules and work…most of the time at least…” She smiled at him. “I love that you’re Iron Man… I love that you can save the world… But I thought for a while that I’d lost you…”

“I thought I’d lost me, too,” he whispered. He closed his eyes and she could feel him trying to look down, but her hands held her in place. 

She leaned in and kissed his forehead before kissing both of his eyelids. She let go of his face and wrapped her arms around his back as she rested her forehead against his. “I know it’s not the same…but I want you to know you can talk to me… You can always talk to me…” 

He looked back up at her and took her by surprise. “All I thought about the whole time was you… I thought about how I needed to keep you safe… That no matter what, you’d live…”

She stared at him for a long time. She could see that truth in his eyes, but there was something different there. It was almost like a darkness that she hadn’t seen before. Tony had changed a lot since she’d known him, and no so more than in the last couple of years…and she always thought for the better. She wasn’t sure what to think of this…

“Come on,” he told her and pulled her closer to him. She smiled and let out a light laugh. “Let’s take a nap before we get dinner…”

“Is that a new term?” she teased.

He just grinned at her. “Something like that,” he told her and brought her knee up and placed a kiss on it before moving further up her leg, moving her skirt as he went. She giggled and he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. 

His lips made it up her hip and he stopped for a moment. His finger traced over a section of the skin on her hip. “Pep…what happened?” he asked and looked up at her. 

She adjusted her position and looked down and frowned. On her hip were two quarter size purplish bruises. “I don’t know. I must have bumped into something…”

So, Tony took extra care and gave extra kisses. “Time for the bedroom,” he whispered before scooping her into his arms. She threw her arms around him and settled into his embrace. She just hoped that things would smooth out once they were back home in Malibu and Tony wasn’t faced with Manhattan and Stark Tower everyday.

 

. . .

 

“I appreciate you taking the time in your schedule for me.”

“Of course,” Obadiah said as he sat at a quiet outdoor restaurant in Malibu. He was enjoying the weather and the atmosphere…though he knew that he’d be enjoying it more if Tony had actually died like he’d originally died. Not even a whole army of aliens could manage to kill him; it really wasn’t looking very good. He wore a hat and hoped that the shadow would keep the attention off of his face. It was still healing after Pepper had clawed him. It was worth it though. Well worth it. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you… I’ve read a lot about your work…”

“I’m afraid that I didn’t bring a presentation along with me today…but the boring company folder. Hope that’ll suffice until a later time?”

“For now,” Obadiah said as the man slipped the folder across the table. His fingers ran over the company logo. AIM. He opened it and started to read over the contents. “Impressive…”

“You know how the military and government can be…”

“Sure, sure…they only want weapons and procedures that are approved by the populous…” Obadiah said. “Sometimes that’s just not good enough…”

“Exactly my thinking…”

“We’re going to get along just fine.”

“I think so, too.”

“We’ll meet again soon, Aldrich,” Obadiah told him as he reached across the shake the man’s hand.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

 

. . .

 

The End.


End file.
